Doctor found not guilty of negligence in Park case

SEOUL (Reuters) - The doctor who administered injections which caused decorated South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan to fail a doping test was found not guilty of causing injury through professional negligence on Thursday.

Doctor found not guilty of negligence in Park case

(Reuters)





The doctor, identified only by her surname Kim, had been accused by prosecutors of causing Park bodily harm by failing to disclose the substances contained in the injection, and of violating the medical code.

Park, who won 400 metres freestyle gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is one of his country's most popular athletes, tested positive for testosterone ahead of the Incheon Asian Games in September 2014.

He said he had been assured by the hospital that the injections contained only vitamins and would not violate any doping regulations.

The 26-year-old received an 18-month ban from the sport by swimming's governing body FINA, leaving his chances of competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics hanging by a thread.

On Thursday, Seoul Central District Court handed out a fine of 1 million won (566.59 pounds) to the doctor for failing to leave records of the injections, local media reported.

However, while the court accepted she had failed to properly explain the side effects of the injection, there was no proof Park had suffered bodily harm because of this and so she was found not guilty of professional negligence.

Under the terms of his suspension, Park was barred from using national facilities in Korea and has recently returned from a training stint in Japan.

While his suspension ends in March, it is unclear whether he will be able to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The Korean Olympic Committee ruled last year that any athlete who has served a doping suspension is ineligible to participate on the national team for a period of three years from the day the suspension ends.





(Reporting by Hooyeon Kim; Writing by Peter Rutherofrd; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world